Prolem Solving

Marsden Cove Top Centre;Town Basin bottom left

I stayed at Marsden Cove Marina for three days. Yesterd Tuesday, enjoyed a most leisurely 14mile sail up the harbour and twisting river to the Whangarei Town Basin Marina, sailing at 3 - 4 knts on a warm sunny day till I was 100 yards from the marina. We were given B6 - a marina Berth not a Vitamin, and will stay there till I decide what to do next.

Whangarei and Marina

While at Marsden Cove I took the Boom off the mast to sort out the reef lines, and I dismantled the Ray Marine wheel pilot and reassembled it, possibly more carefully than I did a few weeks ago when I might have not quite put it back together properly, possibly explaining why it overheated  ! I used it to steer the boat all the way up the harbour and it worked poerfectly - so, as they say, "my bad"  I also read the vast Sailmail FAQ/Troubleshooting file, and came across a few interesting suggestions which may explain the difficulties I was having, but have yet to fully work through these. I also  realised that the SailMail problems only started after the new Solar Panel was installed so will need to investigate the possibility of some sort of electrical interference related to that. I left Marsden Cove because it is isolated from all the loal marine services whereas the Town Basin is right in the middle of them, and it is from them I hope to get advice and suggestions about my communication difficulties. I am going to get the Toughbook checked just to make sure it hasnt got a Bug, and I am going to download some special software that will enable me to get weather reports independent of Sailmail.

Today its pouring with rain, and I am scurrying about under a tiny umbrella trying to stay dry while tracking down various Computer and Radio people. Ive looked at the weather maps for the next few days and there are some promising forecasts for early next week....